(Bloomberg) — Principal Solar Inc., a U.S. renewable-energy developer, is planning to build a 72.9-megawatt power
plant in North Carolina.
The utility-scale solar farm, the Dallas-based company’s
second in the state, will cost an estimated $154 million and be
operational early next year, according to a statement Monday.
Principal Solar is buying development rights to the project in
Fayetteville from Asheville, North Carolina-based Innovative
Solar Systems LLC in a deal expected to close no later than Aug.
30. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
Principal said Duke Energy Corp. has agreed to buy the
solar farm’s output under a 10-year contract. Duke has also
agreed to buy the electricity from the 78.5-megawatt plant
Principal Solar is developing in Cumberland County. The combined
capacity of the projects is enough to power more than 14,000
homes.
“Both of these projects have stable sources of revenue and
demonstrate the growing importance of solar power to the U.S.
energy industry,” Principal Solar Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer Michael Gorton said in the statement.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Justin Doom in New York at
jdoom1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at
landberg@bloomberg.net
Steven Frank, Amanda Jordan